Maude: Open data is UK.gov's 'new way of operating'

Transparency is a new way of operating and the public sector is now more accountable to the public, aided by the release of more than 7,500 datasets, including 800-plus geographical linked datasets via data.gov.uk, Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude has said.

In a parliamentary written answer he said that the government's consultation and forthcoming white paper on open data represent the next phase in its transparency agenda.

According to Maude, the government is moving away from a "simple accountability model", towards embedding openness and transparency as core operating principles of public services.

"The white paper will contain a full impact assessment of policy proposals and the benefits of open data," he said.

Maude was responding to a written question from Jonathan Evans, the Conservative MP for Cardiff North, about what assessment the minister had made of the government's open data project and how he will use this to determine the future of the project.

He said that the Cabinet Office's transparency team is leading on an "open data workstream" within the second phase of the government's growth review, to be released alongside the chancellor of the exchequer's autumn statement on 29 November 2011.

"In this, the government will set out open data's potential to drive economic growth in the UK economy," said Maude.

Guardian Government Computing is a business division of Guardian Professional, and covers the latest news and analysis of public sector technology. For updates on public sector IT, join the Government Computing Network here.